
PopSockets turned phone backs into a $169M revenue stream
The company transformed the unused back of a smartphone into a monetizable surface, evolving from a garage prototype in 2011 to a global brand that posted $169 million in revenue by 2017. Its success hinged on embedding a simple grip into an existing daily habit, generating constant repeat interactions and word‑of‑mouth growth.
Walmart’s purchase of Vizio gives the retailer control of a smart‑TV operating system that blends content discovery, advertising, payments and commerce on the living‑room screen. The move transforms retail media from search‑based placements to first‑screen TV inventory, especially as 2026‑model TVs roll out. The upcoming 2026 World Cup will amplify this shift, providing a cultural catalyst for massive home‑screen ad exposure and one‑click purchases. Marketers are urged to adopt interactive, data‑driven TV creative and flexible budgeting to capture the new closed‑loop shopping experience.

The Leaf, a Bengaluru‑based agency, launched a short‑form film for OPPO showcasing the Find X9 through the day of a Gen Z creator. The narrative follows the creator’s multiple roles—from yoga to directing and late‑night art—using rapid cinematic cuts that mirror modern...
Mytheresa has launched its "Best of Spring" menswear ad campaign for Spring 2026, featuring British actor Max Parker as the face of the collection. The visuals, shot by Zoe Joubert in Spain’s Tabernas Desert, showcase luxury labels such as Prada, Giorgio Armani, Bottega Veneta...
New York Times has introduced Crossplay, its first two‑player word game that embeds ads directly within gameplay. The ad‑supported format targets non‑subscribing users, with six‑second mandatory video ads after each turn. JPMorgan Chase partnered for the launch, aiming at financially active, digitally savvy...
The New York Times launched Crossplay, its first two‑player word game, as a standalone app that embeds ads directly within gameplay. The ad‑supported model applies to non‑subscribers, while a Games subscription removes the ads. JPMorgan Chase partnered on the launch, using...

Left pic is me in 2018 with my first "big brand" deal, assembling a Hampton Bay Tipton 34" Steel Deep Bowl Fire Pit for The Home Depot... Right pic is a full build my team designed, installed, filmed, and launched...

The Philippines is intensifying its tourism outreach to South Korea, its largest inbound market, by expanding joint campaigns with airlines, travel agencies, and digital advertising. The Department of Tourism is promoting flagship destinations such as Manila, Cebu, Bohol, Boracay and...
Beauty brands are swapping classic influencers for male "heartthrob" ambassadors, a trend highlighted by MAC Cosmetics’ recent Sephora launch featuring reality‑TV star Rob Rausch. Rausch’s Instagram post generated nearly 8 million impressions in three days and was amplified on a Times Square...

In this special edition of the eMarketer "Behind the Numbers" podcast, senior analyst Minda Smiley moderates a panel with Corey Weaver, Head of Influence at Gap Inc., and Alexis Call, Director of Digital Merchandising at Stanley 1913. The discussion explores...
Based Bodyworks, a digitally native men’s grooming brand founded by influencer‑barber Lance Baker, has become a TikTok Shop sensation, posting roughly $5 million in U.S. sales in February and ranking fourth among beauty brands on the platform. The brand’s product line,...

OpenAI is rapidly assembling an internal advertising infrastructure, hiring engineers, product designers, and trust‑and‑safety staff to replace its current reliance on third‑party vendors. In the short term it is partnering with Criteo and The Trade Desk to bring advertisers into...

Every Man Jack is positioning 2026 as a breakout year by launching a brand refresh that targets two distinct consumer personas—“Jack,” the seasoned grooming enthusiast, and “Jake,” the sustainability‑focused newcomer. The overhaul includes PET packaging for better recyclability, a sub‑$10...

In this episode, Digiday’s Kamiko McCoy and Tim Peterson sit down with TikTok US platform reporter Crystal Scanlan to unpack TikTok’s post‑legal‑battle strategy. With the U.S. ban threat lifted, TikTok is shifting from defensive mode to aggressively courting ad dollars,...

Three senior IKEA marketers – Kirsten Hasler (Australia & New Zealand), Patrizia Rigassi (Japan) and Yuli Park (Korea) – will speak at the Cairns Crocodiles conference on May 14, presented by Pinterest. They will discuss how IKEA balances a unified global brand with...

Foxcatcher has launched WorldView Atlas AI, an intelligence layer that embeds agentic workflows into its WorldView platform. The system semi‑automates campaign setup, execution, and reporting, freeing trading specialists to concentrate on strategic optimisation. By keeping humans in the decision loop,...
As a B2B SaaS this terrifies me: I have basically stopped clicking on google results. The AI summary is good enough, and for other things I just ask ChatGPT. My business relies on SEO, so my own actions are filling me...

The Dual Revolution: Why B2B Marketing Needs a Human Heart in an Agentic World by @Timothy_Hughes https://t.co/ypgA3clsup @DLAIgnite #SocialSelling #DigitalSelling #Sales #SalesTips #SalesLeader #Marketing #Leadership #MarketingStrategy #ArtificialIntelligence #Tech #TechNews https://t.co/Kx9eEND4Un

Paramount+ and creative agency Hello have teamed with ARIA‑winning artist G Flip to relaunch Pat Benatar’s classic “All Fired Up” as the official anthem for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026. The reworked track will feature across Paramount+ live coverage, radio play, streaming platforms...

West Coast Eagles has appointed Carat and Hypnosis as its agencies of record, launching the new brand platform "All The Way West" across broadcast, out‑of‑home, press and digital channels. The campaign spotlights fans and community members, positioning the "West" identity...

Arsenal F.C. turned the long‑standing corner‑kick joke into a star‑studded promotional film for its Arsenal App. The short comedy‑sketch features actors Asa Butterfield and Aaron Pierre alongside players like Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard, and women’s stars such as Kim Little. Legends David Seaman and...

Influencer analytics is shifting from vanity metrics like likes and views to revenue‑centric measurement that ties creator spend to CAC, ROAS, LTV and actual sales. Marketers are urged to build a KPI ladder that moves from outputs (posts) to outcomes...

BrewDog was sold to Tilray Brands, prompting the abrupt termination of 500 staff and closure of 38 pubs. The deal erased the value of the “Equity for Punks” scheme, leaving roughly £75 million invested by fans worthless. The article argues that...
Medium Rare has launched its first experiential offering, "The Remarkable Show," a live event for Flybuys that gathered 150 of the program’s most active members alongside creators and brand partners. The activation produced more than 200 pieces of content across...
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has launched the "Keep Asking" campaign with Leo Australia, branding itself as the nation’s most trusted news source. The rollout follows a swift correction of an analysis piece that mistakenly claimed the United States bombed...
Earlier today I shared a SocialBrilliance analysis of a well-known company. Then I ran the same exercise on Palantir. The result was strong. What fascinated me was not weakness. It was precision. Even elite brands can still have small gaps between brand power and message...
Snapchat unveiled a Cricket in a Snap ad suite to let brands ride India’s cricket frenzy, featuring a Live Sports API, AR fan zones, surface‑tracking lenses and sponsored stickers. The platform now exceeds 250 million Indian users, with cricket emerging as...

Australian agency Howatson has launched Unicorn, an in‑house AI platform that automates the rollout of master creative into hundreds of digital and out‑of‑home formats. The service costs $5,000 per campaign—roughly a 95% reduction from traditional $100,000 rollouts—and delivers assets within...
Nestlé USA is launching Minor’s Kitchen, a chef‑inspired sauce line, marking the company’s first consumer culinary brand in the United States. The four‑flavor assortment—Lemon Garlic Aioli, Creamy Korean BBQ, Spicy Chili Truffle, and American Smokehouse—targets the fast‑growing at‑home condiment market,...

An AI‑generated Amish avatar named Melanskia, with over 300,000 Instagram followers, is promoting the dietary supplement Modern Antidote without disclosing her synthetic nature. The avatar is operated by entrepreneur Josemaria Silvestrini, who uses AI tools to create realistic video content...

DemandScience has launched Content‑IQ, a proprietary platform that unifies AI Visibility Optimization, content architecture, and web personalization to transform B2B content into a measurable pipeline engine. The system uses patented content opportunity scoring to build pillar‑based topic networks that boost...

The best headline ever written wasn't written. In 1958, David Ogilvy won the Rolls-Royce account. Tiny budget. Two ad placements. It had to work. He spent three weeks doing nothing but research. Engineering reports. Technical reviews. Factory specs. Then he found it. Buried...

AI‑driven search has moved from a simple visibility problem to a complex measurement and budgeting challenge in Q1 2026. Within weeks, three major AI answer platforms began serving ads directly inside AI‑generated answers, reshaping how content is discovered and monetized....

Being well known does not mean being clearly understood. 💡 I used SocialBrilliance to run a simple AI test on @ServiceNow messaging. What it surfaced is something many marketing leaders feel but rarely quantify: A brand can be highly respected, widely recognized, and...

Liz Reid on how Google designs ranking algorithms in the age of AI content Wired ⚡️: Personal Perspectives, Expertise, Effort Tired 😴: Content that says what everyone else knows https://t.co/JFS1su3Sha

Demandbase’s new research arm, Labs, released its inaugural B2B AI GTM Report, drawing on more than 24 billion buyer interactions, 429 k ad campaigns and insights from over 1,400 companies. The study shows that deploying four tiers of ad products can lift...
This is cool. And it fits with the larger trend Google has been implementing across Discover and News for years - highlighting entities, brands, recognized authors, and linking their social profiles all in one place
The same 50 email campaigns drive the majority of ecommerce email revenue. Every time. Across every brand we've worked with. @yojimmykim and I finally put all of them in one place. Real examples, AI prompts, copywriting frameworks, and welcome flows from...

Physical post outreach is gaining traction as marketers seek tactile, trustworthy channels amid digital overload. Studies show direct mail achieves a 4.4% response rate—about 37 times higher than email—and delivers a 112% return on investment. Personalization can slash acquisition costs...

Screenshot 1: Grokipedia - projected organic traffic 2. Grokipedia ChatGPT citations 3. Grokipedia AIO citations 4. Grokipedia AI mode citations Interesting how closely ChatGPT aligns with Google organic traffic 👀 All data from @ahrefs https://t.co/insLf5sN2u
Is AI finally moving from experimentation to execution inside marketing ops? How are martech budgets changing in 2026, and where is that money going? And what does the shift away from agencies mean for marketing leaders? Find those answers and more...
Marketers must dissolve the linear‑vs‑streaming divide and adopt a convergent TV approach, blending programmatic and direct buying. At Convergent TV World, Tatari’s Mike Fogarty highlighted the $70 billion U.S. TV market, noting that only $30 billion is streaming‑focused and still largely direct‑sold....
RT @VoxOptima How big data is affecting social media metrics and Facebook ad strategies, Elianna Hyde | https://t.co/LO7kUfX8DB SmartData Collective "Facebook’s own advertising platform allows the marketers to maximize their campaign effectiveness, by utilizing big data analytics indirectly."
I spent $8k on a professional product photoshoot. The photos flopped. I took some raw, authentic photos with my iPhone. Conversions went up 30%. The market doesn't care about 'professional'. It cares about 'real'. Test everything.
Web search marketing combines SEO, paid search, keyword research, local listings and analytics to place brands where consumers are actively searching. By aligning content with user intent, businesses capture qualified traffic, boost conversions and strengthen brand exposure. Real‑world examples—from a...
RT @VisionEdgeMktg 📊 Analytics + marketing operations = growth acceleration. Measure everything. Here's your toolkit: https://t.co/erhl8XtQN3 #Analytics #MarketingOps #DataDriven
A classically trained opera singer has reinvented his career by becoming a car salesman who films himself belting arias on the dealership lot. He writes original lyrics that describe each vehicle and posts the performances on TikTok and Instagram, where...

Marketing teams now track clicks, conversions and ROAS in real time, yet those metrics rarely reveal whether a campaign actually shifts brand perception. Measuring perception—trust, favorability, purchase intent—requires a pre‑campaign baseline built from surveys, social listening and behavioral signals. During...
The email deliverability technology market, valued at $4.5 billion in 2025, underpins reliable inbox placement for marketers. Success hinges on sender reputation, which reflects complaint rates, bounce metrics, and recipient engagement. Core authentication protocols—SPF, DKIM, DMARC—and practices such as IP warming...
Programmatic advertising has become the default buying method, with spend projected to reach $25 billion in 2025, representing roughly 88 % of digital display ads. Real‑time bidding (RTB) executes auctions in under 100 ms, linking demand‑side platforms (DSPs) and supply‑side platforms (SSPs) through...
The post warns that generative AI reduces many knowledge‑work outputs to low‑cost commodities. It proposes a value‑chain framework—commodity, branded product, service, experience, transformation—to reclaim relevance. By building a strong personal brand and converting outputs into services and immersive experiences, professionals...